Sensors, Vol. 21, Pages 5077: Sensor-Enabled Multi-Robot System for Automated Welding and in-Process Ultrasonic NDE

Sensors, Vol. 21, Pages 5077: Sensor-Enabled Multi-Robot System for Automated Welding and in-Process Ultrasonic NDE Sensors doi: 10.3390/s21155077 Authors: Momchil Vasilev Charles N. MacLeod Charalampos Loukas Yashar Javadi Randika K. W. Vithanage David Lines Ehsan Mohseni Stephen Gareth Pierce Anthony Gachagan The growth of the automated welding sector and emerging technological requirements of Industry 4.0 have driven demand and research into intelligent sensor-enabled robotic systems. The higher production rates of automated welding have increased the need for fast, robotically deployed Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE), replacing current time-consuming manually deployed inspection. This paper presents the development and deployment of a novel multi-robot system for automated welding and in-process NDE. Full external positional control is achieved in real time allowing for on-the-fly motion correction, based on multi-sensory input. The inspection capabilities of the system are demonstrated at three different stages of the manufacturing process: after all welding passes are complete; between individual welding passes; and during live-arc welding deposition. The specific advantages and challenges of each approach are outlined, and the defect detection capability is demonstrated through inspection of artificially induced defects. The developed system offers an early defect detection opportunity compared to current inspection methods, drastically reducin...
Source: Sensors - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research